A little Korean, a little soul, an intresting run-in, and a little note on wine.
Recently I had a chance to goto two excellent restaurants in San Francisco. No I'm not talking about Aqua, or Fleur De Lys, although I would love to go to them if I had the chance. I'm talking about some good soul food, and Korean BBQ. No, these places aren't the fine dining establishments I usually talk about, but they are great places to get some down home cooking at decent prices.
The first place I went to was the Hard Knox Cafe. I first herd about this place from a PBS show called Check Please! Bay Area a little over a year ago, and it got me really interested to try out this place. It has taken a long time to actually get down to try it out though. One of the first problems is that the place is located around 23rd st. and Third, which is located in the Bay View district which is one of those places I never go unless I really have to. Another reason is that its just a pain to get out there until recently, now the new MUNI T-Line runs next to it so its a easy half block walk from two different stations. Hard Knox features a soul food menu which has a great selection of classic soul food items like fried chicken, collard greens, black eye peas. The menu is simple you can choose from 13 different entrees which comes with your choice of two of the 12 different sides, or you can choose a sandwich with one side. All dishes are $10 and under which is a nice plus when your looking for some cheap eats that will really fill you up. I was able to try the ox tails, blacken catfish, yams, mashed potatoes, rice and gravy, and potato salad. The ox tails and blacken catfish were both prepared nicely, the tails were very tender and were falling off the bone, a good sign that they have been cooked for a sufficient amount of time. The catfish has a nice black color to it and the seasoning brought the fish to life with flavor. The sides were also good, although I think the yams were a bit too watery. The potato salad was simply amazing, it is some of the best I've ever had. So if any one is looking for some good soul food hard knox is a place to try.
The next place I was recommended to me by one of my friends. As some of you may know, I really like eating niku, especially when it comes in the form of yakiniku. There are two main types of yakiniku that I like more then others, Japanese style and Korean style. Sadly there are very few places in San Francisco that do yakiniku anywhere remotely right, that is to say they allow you to grill your own meat. Even worse there is only one Japanese style yakiniku place in San Francisco, Juban. Although this place is decent, it is no match for true Japanese yakiniku from Japan. Then there is Korean yakiniku, there are more of these restaurants around, but quality can be so so. Seoul Garden in Japantown has been the place I normally go when I'm looking for some yakiniku. However, now that I have been told about this other place I think I can safely say I'll never eat there again. The place in question is called Brothers restaurant, a hole in the wall, smoke filled wonderland of delectable meats. This is also the only place I know of in all the bay area where you grill the meat with charcoal. I know what some people might think that there is no difference between charcoal and gas, and I would have to say you would be wrong. Charcoal gives meat a smokier taste that I like, and I feel that its a little more gentle then the constant temperature of gas. They have a good selection of sides that go with a plate of meat, and the prices are comparable to those at Seoul Garden. Another great thing about this place is they give you free dishes, something I haven't seen done anywhere else. Another great plus about this place is that its open till 2am so its a great place to get a late night dinner.
This brings me to that interesting run-in we had. We were at Brothers having a late dinner that started around 10:30pm. We were chowing down waiting for some one else to arrive. The restaurant was completely empty and then a group of Japanese guys walked in. I didn't really think much of it at the time. Later on I notice that some of my friends were getting pretty excited about something so I asked them whats up. Apparently one of the Japanese guys that was eating was Daisuke Matsuzaka the new Japanese pitching sensation from the Boston Red Soxs. This was quite a surprise, I have met other famous people in San Francisco, but they were all living in or around the city. This was the first time I had seen a famous person that wasn't from around here. It was quite a surprise indeed especially since we were originally going to go to Seoul Garden, glad we didn't.
Wine has been on my mind a lot lately, and I have been really considering picking up a few cases of 2005 Bordeaux futures because its building up to be one of the greatest vintages, even better then 1982. I have found a site really helpful for me in exploring new and different wines that I would have never really considered or herd of. http://tv.winelibrary.com/